Snapshots
by buttercup1912
Summary: Snapshots of Neil Melendez and Audrey Lim's decade-long friendship.
1. 1 - part one

**Five times Neil noticed her and she didnt**

**1**

_"She was kind of weird. She wore comic book t-shirts..."_

The first time Neil met Audrey he noticed her immediately. Before you expect anything, no, it's not a cliche love story where the boy meets girl and he falls head over heels in love. However Neil won't admit that he did find her interesting the first time he saw her. Who knew he will get to know this person more in the next years, perhaps decades to come?

It happened one fine day in St. Bonaventure Hospital where Neil would spend the next five years of his career preparing and training to be a great surgeon. He was excited and a bit giddy to wear his white coat and be called doctor by his patients. And all of that will happen in a few weeks' time. For now him, as well as his fellow interns were gathered inside one of the meeting rooms as part of their orientation week.

He sat together with five other young new doctors while they waited for their program director to arrive.

He quietly observed these five doctors who will be his colleagues in the next years to come. He didn't know any of them before, besides no one of his friends in med school decided to take the same specialty as him.

They got a chance to get to know each other briefly a few moments ago when they arrived. But Neil was curious to know more about them, not only their personalities but importantly their skills.

He's not trying to be competitive...just trying to survive this five years of residency. And he's got a plan to impress and get his superiors respect in the hopes that someday he can get a chance to practice his profession here after residency.

While quietly judging his colleagues his attention was caught by this person seating at the farthest side of the long table.

He can't help but notice her because she looks like the odd one among them. And no, not because she's Asian. They've got another male Asian in the team, his partner in the first month of rotations, Dr. Choi whom he seemed to be getting along well. They were chatting a couple of minutes ago before he decided to continue the conversation with one of their colleagues.

Back to this certain doctor, it's because of the way she carry herself and her choice of ...well...outfit. While the others were trying to look presentable in neatly ironed ties, slacks or skirt, this person choose to wear a comic-book shirt under her blazer.

'This one's got some personality,' Neil said in his mind.

He wasn't trying to be a creep by being a critic of what she wears but he became curious of her. He wondered if that shirt got some sentimental value for her. Was she a Star Wars fan? Is this her 'lucky' shirt?

'Why do you care if she's a fan?' Neil silently scolded himself. 'You don't even watch or read those stuff. Why do you care?'

Well apparently one of his questions were answered within the months of knowing her. It wasn't her lucky shirt. He noticed how she likes to wear different kinds of shirts from her probably favorite comics. Sometimes she even wore those super-hero ones under her white coat. Those are the stuffs he saw her in when she's not in her scrubs.

'She's a nerd,' Neil concluded.

But aside from her not so weird choice of clothing, Neil also noticed a tiny bit of her strong personality he has yet to discover.

While observing her talk to one of their colleagues before, he can tell that she's a bit carefree and confident. She sat calmly and looked ready to learn more from her superiors. She doesn't look nervous like the rest of their co-interns.

Of course all of them are excited to begin their residency, but being anxious comes along with it because of the added responsibility. They weren't students anymore but new doctors in training.

'Maybe she's more smart than what I think she is,' he thought.

'Or maybe she's just good at masking her emotions. That's a skill sometimes people need in this profession.'

He decided to continue his observations once they are finally face to face with a patient. 'Maybe that's where I can really know how good she is, or not.'

Neil's colleague-judging was cut off when the door opened. Their program director had arrived and along with him is the Chief of Surgery.

Dr. Bailey, their program director started to introduce them to each other.

"This is our six new interns this year, Dr Neil Melendez," he mentioned their names one by one, each smiling and shaking his hand politely. "And of course Dr. Audrey Lim,"

After all pleasantries were exchanged the chief bid goodbye to attend one of his meetings leaving Dr. Bailey alone to orient the interns.

He gave a warm welcome speech for them. He also started to give additional information and guides for the six of them for when they start in a few weeks. He seemed to be in a good mood and gave a chance to answer every inquiries they had. He also gave a bit of encouragement for them and cheered for their first day.

At the end of the day he dismissed them and promised to meet them again tomorrow as continuation of their orientation week. Tomorrow is actually the real one where they will spend the whole day familiarizing themselves to St. Bonaventure Hospital.

As the six of them gathered their stuff and bid each other goodbye, Neil realized that he only had exchanged hellos and goodbyes with Audrey today. He had conversed with three of them already so perhaps tomorrow he could get a full conversation with the others, including her.

And maybe he could ask why she likes comic-books. Hahaha.


	2. 1 - part two

**Five times Neil noticed her and she didnt**

**2**

_"...She would get surgeries and knock them out of the park over and over again. I couldn't stand her. And one day I realized I was competing against her, but she wasn't competing against me..."_

The next time Neil noticed Audrey it wasn't because of her different comic-book T-shirts, but because of her skills.

The first time he was partnered with her at work he was impressed with her. It was one busy night in the ER and there were a lot of patients than ordinary which was unfortunate because they were kind of short on staff at the moment.

Dr. Lim and Melendez were paged to the ER when a trauma patient arrived. When they reached the trauma bay, their attending was busy looking after a patient who had serious injuries from a car accident.

Audrey snapped immediately and started helping. (And of course he did too.) But he couldn't help but be impressed at how calm and focused she is at these cases. Especially when there were many patients to tend to, Dr. Audrey Lim is in serious mode.

She doesn't seemed overwhelmed with how grim some injuries their patients had. Instead, she looked excited and curious. And Neil found it a little bit annoying because even when he had already seen these stuffs back when he was a med student, it still affects him. He knew he should be getting used to it by now and he's working at it. It's just some people out there were better than him in adapting to change. (He eyes Dr. Lim across the room talking to their senior resident.)

Neil wasn't the only one who noticed her skills. Dr. Lim's performance also impressed their superiors. She swiftly gained their respect and even the nurses who had underestimated their fellow interns acknowledged her craft.

As interns, they spent most of the time taking care of the patients on the floor and doing consults at the ED. If luck was in their hands sometimes they were called to assist in the operating room. When Neil heard that Dr. Lim had been inside the OR first among them he brushed it off and thought she was just lucky. He did had his own chance to go afterwards. However it seemed like luck was always working her way when Dr. Lim was able to assist in one of major surgeries with Dr. Glassman, the hospital's president. When Neil learned about that he tried hard not to show his envy.

When he noticed these things a sense of competitiveness rose in Dr. Melendez. Unconsciously, he began to level up his hardwork and try to also impress his superiors. He wants them to notice him, that he's as good as her, or perhaps better than her.

.

As days stretched into months, eventually he wasn't the curious young intern anymore. As the months of residency passed by, his other colleagues acknowledged his skills and improvements. His co-residents may or may not have noticed the unspoken competition between Dr. Lim and Dr. Melendez but their attendings sure know more. Both names were always being praised for their hardwork.

Among their bosses, it was Dr. Glassman who first noticed this 'little' rivalry. Sometimes he'd initiate a game with the residents, they were broken into teams and the team with the highest patient satisfaction survey would get first dibs in assisting surgeries for a week.

When these games happen, Audrey and Neil usually were not in the same team which further fuels their rivalry.

Most of the time Dr. Lim's team wins the game and Dr. Melendez tries hard not to be disappointed. But when his team wins, he smirks and grins from ear to ear. Dr. Glassman found that observation interesting.

One time in their third year of residency, Dr. Glassman made them work in the same case again. He liked to work with these two assertive doctors, one who's very competent and one who didn't seemed to be bothered by the other.

"You had improved greatly since your first day Dr. Melendez," Dr. Glassman complimented him one day.

"Thank you sir. You and the other attendings have been great mentors. I learned alot," he said. "And I have more to learn yet."

"Must have been a lot of help to have a motivation to work hard isn't it?"

"Umm yes...sir?" Neil was confused. He didn't quite understand what Dr. Glassman was trying to point out. 'What motivation? Is he talking about my personal life?' Neil thought to himself.

"I don't have a girlfriend, sir," he blurted out. He cringed at how weird that sounded so he added, "if your talking about that..."

To his surprise his attending laughed so hard at his statement. "Oh I was not addressing about your personal life Melendez! I'm still talking about something work-related," he said between laughs.

Neil was flustered at how awkward their conversation had become.

Dr. Glassman patted his shoulder gently, "Sometimes a good rival can motivate you to do well. In my case, I encourage my residents to do that as long as it remains a healthy competition," he smiled.

He didn't mention any names but Neil finally understood what he was trying to tell. And it made him cringe mentally for two reasons. One, because why did he tell his attending about his lack of girlfriend at the moment when it wasn't necessary. Two, his attending noticed him trying to 'compete' with Dr. Lim.

'Well there's nothing wrong if I treat my fellows as rivals. Its part of learning. Others do it too,' Neil made himself believe.

Besides, Dr. Lim doesn't look bothered at all. In fact, he had a feeling that sometimes she likes the challenge.


	3. 1 - part three

**Hi guys. Just a quick note, after Neil I plan to do Audrey's side too. So the chapters wont necessarily be in chronological order. I'll jump to some events only depending on the topic or the quote featured in the chapter**

**Five times Neil noticed her and she didnt**

**3**

_"...we've both been in relationships..."_

It's been two years of knowing Audrey Lim but it seemed like Neil has a lot more to learn about her. Sometimes he discovers random stuffs about her accidentally, like how one time she saw her riding a motorcycle. It was her day off and she went to pick up some groceries to stock in her fridge when Neil happened to pass by the market on his way to the hospital.

The bus he was in stopped infront of the market and he saw her exiting with a bag of groceries. It was an ordinary scene to him until she went near one of the parked motorcycles and packed the stuff she bought. And then his jaw almost dropped when she rode on it and drove back home.

The next time he saw her after that he tried to annoy her with questions on why she didn't ride it to the hospital. Audrey just rolled her eyes and told him she did, he just didn't saw her do it.

Well that wasn't the most surprising thing he found out about her.

One day while they were waiting for their patient's CT scan results, the two had another discussion about their opinions regarding their patient.

The patient, a young married man in his early 30s was admitted in for suspected lung cancer. He actually had a weird request to the residents, about not to tell his wife the real results if it turned out positive. He wanted them to lie to her so that she wouldn't worry.

"Don't tell me you agree with him," Neil inquired. "You want to help him lie about something as serious as this?"

"Of course not! Don't worry I won't start another debate with you today," Audrey said. "I just thought his reasons was endearing."

Their patient didn't want to tell his wife if it's bad news. Even of it's cancer he still want to continue his plan of accompanying his wife in her tour. His wife is a musician and her work requires her going from place to place. It's a bit crazy decision to others but it is all he wants to do if he's going to die. Support his beloved wife in her dreams.

Neil looked at her like she had gone crazy. "Excuse me...is Dr. Lim finally going soft?"

Audrey glared at him. "Oh you won't understand with all your big ego."

"And you understand them?" he asked. "If I were him, I will tell her. She deserves to know. Even if it makes her temporarily pause her career."

Audrey didn't say anything but his words made her think of someone. Neil noticed her silence was unusual. Most of the time she got something to say in his opinions, whether to agree with it or mostly to disagree.

"You got someone who doesn't support your chosen career don't you?"

She kept her silence.

"It musn't be your parents, I saw your med school graduation photos and they looked so proud. A sibling? No it shouldn't bother them...maybe a boyfriend?" Neil looked at her. "You've got a secret boyfriend we don't know? "

Audrey rolled her eyes and finally answered him. "A husband,"

"A what??" he almost shouted.

"Uhh a male spouse?" she sarcastically replied.

"You are married?! Why didn't you tell me?" Neil was surprised, like really really suprised at her. He stared at her hand trying to find a wedding ring.

"Because you didn't ask. And you wouldn't find the ring there. I usually wear it as a pendant on my necklace or sometimes I don't really wear it at work."

"Does anybody here know about this? "

"Pretty much all our superiors are aware of course. And Dr. Flores found out sooner than you,"

Neil was about to say something but the results for their patient finally arrived. Audrey changed the topic and they decided to find their attending about how to deal with this patient.

Although the revelation that day was buried by a lot of dealing with their patients, Neil began to see her in a different light. Their disagreements lessened but it didn't mean for him to step back especially when he thought his ideas makes more sense. It's just he found her less annoying now...and he can't explain exactly why.

There were circumstances where Neil got a glimpse of Audrey's personal life.

One time he almost ran into her in the lockers room when he heard her talking to someone on the phone. He knew she was talking to her husband judging from the conversation and he knew that it was rude to eavesdrop so he immediately left her alone.

Another time was when he finally saw that 'husband' in person. After an exhausting 36-hour shift he was glad to finally get away from the hospital. He was at the hospital's lobby when he saw Audrey with another man, in which she seemed to be holding hands with. Of course he assumed that it was her unnamed husband. The tall man took her bag and led her out of the hospital.

The whole time Audrey didn't saw him and it was probably better because Neil didn't want to look like a stalker. He also didn't bother to mention about it to her. He would probably sound so awkward and he didn't have any plans to get to know her husband either.

Why would he? They're not even close. The way he could describe their relationship right now is as colleagues... Although everyone would say it's rivals, but at the very least they can settle as plain as 'friends'.


	4. 1 - part four

**Five times Neil noticed her and she didnt**

**4**

_"...always ate the exact same lunch"_

Neil headed to the cafeteria just now to grab some quick lunch after a busy morning rounds in his third year of residency. He noticed Audrey eating her own lunch by herself at the corner so he decided to join her.

They have irregular schedules of their breaks but every time Neil catches her eating he noticed that she's always eating the same subway sandwich she likes. Although sometimes when they're on night shift he seems her at the break room sipping some instant noodles while reading some research.

They nod at each other to acknowledge before he sat down across from her seat and promptly began eating his lunch. Sometimes they would engage in small chats but right now he's too hungry for that. And time is precious, you never know when your pager calls you back at work.

They ate in comfortable silence. They've known more of each other now to be friends although his competitive spirits are still alive as ever. Their constant bickerings are now sometimes laced with the intention to annoy the other. But of course they won't do that in the prescence of any of their seniors. They snap to serious mode and try to be a team once the situation calls in.

Neil at his lunch fast at the same time observing the other in front of him. He took notice of what she's eating and her occassional glances on her phone. He guessed she's probably conversing with her husband.

About thirty minutes later when both of their pagers buzzed off and they were called to the ED.

A young married couple who were victims of a car crash arrived. Neil immediately worked on the husband who only sustained minor injuries while Audrey and their attending focused on the wife who needs serious attention.

They found out that the wife was 6 months pregnant and suffering from a head injury, several fractures to her ribs and internal organ damage. With those serious injuries, they were surprised that she didn't went into labor yet.

Their attending consulted with the OBGYN and Dr. Lim and Melendez went to assist them in the OR.

They realized that mother's injuries were too beyond help but since the unborn child seemed fine they would try to keep her alive as long as possible to let the unborn child mature enough to be delivered.

Later in the evening, Neil and Audrey watched as the husband saw his wife for the first time after the accident hooked in life support machines. It was heartbreaking to watch knowing that she most probably wont make it.

Neil and Audrey left to give him some privacy and the two walked back to the break room in silence.

"Want to grab some coffee?" Neil said suddenly.

Audrey stared at him and before she could reply he said, "Let's run for a coffee, there's a cafe nearby. We could also use a breathe of air outside after what happened."

Audrey took his offer and together they went for a quick break. It was probably the first time they went out to eat together without their fellow residents. That was another nice change to their unsual friendship.

"It's unfortunate isn't it? Only one has a chance to live. We can't save them both," Audrey sighed as they walk back to the hospital a few moments later.

"Yeah, I feel bad while talking to the husband a while ago. He's devastated that he'll lose his wife, and that child would grow without the mother"

"Do you like kids?" she asked.

Neil looked at her and nodded.

Audrey smiled at her discovery. "Really???"

"Why? Is it hard to believe?"

"You're always serious! And I don't see you interact with kids," she teased.

Neil allowed the teasing to happen in order for them to steer away from the heavy topic from before. "You haven't seen me yet. I'll prove it to you someday, I'm great with kids," he challenged.

"Sure... I'll wait for it,"

"How about you? Any plans?"

Audrey gave an uneasy laugh. "I don't know yet. I don't think I could do both residency and raising a kid at the same time."

With her answer, Neil had a lot of questions to ask. 'What about your husband? He should do half of child care too,' he wanted to say but he remembered that her husband was living at the other side of the country at the moment. That was one of the few things she shared about her personal life. She's very private in some aspects of her personal life and he doesn't want to pry if she doesn't want to share.

"Maybe not now," she added.

She became quiet after that and they didn't talk until they reached their floor and resumed their duties.

The time arrived when the unborn child was matured enough to be safely delivered by C-section. Neil was devastated to see the husband holding back tears while carrying the baby. His wife will be taken off the life support in a few moments.

After that emotional ordeal Neil went out again to clear his mind. He felt so bad for the husband who was now left with a child to care, the memory of his late wife. It was tragic and it wasn't supposed to end like this if the couple didn't went out that day.

Neil felt his stomach grumble and realized that it already late for a dinner. He grabbed some subway sandwiches and went to find someone who can eat with him.

Audrey raised her eyebrows when he offered her the exact same stuff she always ate for lunch. Although since she heard about what happened to their ex patient today she didn't ask questions and ate with him in silence instead.

A few days later she did teased him about it. He just excused himself, "I'm always nice but you just don't notice it," he smirked.


	5. 1 - part five

**Five times Neil noticed her and she didnt**

**5**

_"But she was smart... She spent her time observing, asking questions, preparing ng herself to be a great surgeon."_

Once they were done with their residency only Neil and Audrey remained in St. Bonaventure Hospital among their peers. Both of their paths also slightly changed from each other, with him pursuing cardiothoracic surgery and her to trauma surgery. Neil didn't always see her as usual like the old times but occasionally they would bump to each other at work.

A lot had changed in his five year stay here. Some mentors left and some new colleagues arrived, Dr. Andrews became the new Chief of Surgery but thank God Dr. Glassman still remains. And he felt relieved to still see a familiar face around the hospital like Audrey whenever someone leaves.

"Of all the people who stayed it's you..." Audrey joked one time when he told he will continue his training in St. Bonaventure just like her.

"What? They got the best here. And it's pretty convenient to work here from where I live," he explained. "It looks like we are stuck here together again for the coming years,"

Audrey tried to make a fake disappointed face but eventually laughed at him. "I'm getting tired seeing your annoying face here,"

"Well get used to it Lim,"

"Whatever Melendez,"

Within the next two years, there were times they got to work together, Neil noticed how much Audrey improved her skills. The result of her hardwork is definitely showing she's now a great surgeon, which makes her mentors proud of her. He even heard Dr. Glassman wanting her to stay in St. Bonaventure after her training which ends in a few months.

One night he got paged for a consult at the ED. Neil got a glimpse of soon-to-be trauma surgeon Dr. Lim in action. She was busy working together with the team performing life saving measures to a critically injured patient.

'This is definitely her comfort zone. She once called it her paradise.' Neil thought.

The scene brought him back some memories from their early days. Neil remembered when he first worked with her in this same room and time. Back then she was just a curious young intern taking notes and directions from their attending. Now she's the one leading the team.

Dr. Melendez might not say it to her face but he's always admired her work. And he was thankful for her presence because of her he was challenged to bring out his best work as well. He wished she'll accept Glassman's offer to stay here like he had, or else he's going to miss her.

He winced slightly when he realized how cheesy his thoughts of her were.

'What are you thinking Melendez? You can't have some thoughts like that to her when you have a fiance?!' he mentankly scolded himself.

'Wait what's wrong with missing her? Don't put any meaning here other than missing a friend. I actually enjoy bickering with her when I'm bored but she's also a good friend...nothing else Neil,' he reflected.

His work and personal life kept him busy in the following months but the good news reached him one afternoon. Dr. Andrews had mentioned it in passing during one of their talks.

That night when he finished his shift he searched for Dr. Lim and found her in the locker room.

"I heard St. Bonaventure gained a new trauma surgeon," he spoke making her turn around in surprise. "Congratulations Dr. Lim," he smiled genuinely.

"Thank you," she replied. Audrey just passed her board certification and had accepted Glassman's offer. Next month she's finally stepping into the hospital as an attending. "Who told you? I haven't told some friends yet."

"Dr. Andrews ruined your announcement I guess?"

"No it's fine. Then it makes you the first friend to know,"

"You know that this makes me nervous now. I feel pressured now that mine is coming in two months," Neil stated.

Audrey smiled. "I'm sure you'll ace it. And why not take this a challenge like the usual."

"I know I like to compete with you. You don't have to mention it all the time like it's not obvious," he rolled his eyes.

"Okay just make sure you do your best. So that I could keep seeing your annoying face here Melendez."

"Challenge accepted Lim," he agreed.

And two months later it was her turn to congratulate him.

**Next chapter is going to be Lim's side of story :)**


	6. 2 - part one

**Five times Audrey noticed him and he didnt**

**1**

_"You were always more interested in competing..."_

Audrey didn't know it at first and had to be told by someone else. She was oblivious to the fact that someone noticed that she's good enough to compete with.

Dr. Flores told Audrey her observation after they got their patient's consent for surgery and are on the way to their seniors.

"I think you have gained a competitor,"

"Me? What for?" Audrey frowned.

"Have you noticed Dr. Melendez? He seemed jealous when you got first dibs on surgery last week,"

"I think he's disappointed not jealous," she shrugged. "That was a nice opportunity for anyone of us. And I just happened to be lucky that my patient was nice enough to give me higher survey results than his team."

"And that is why he is eager to win against you when the next opportunity comes,"

"Then let him do what he wants. To me I'm not competing against anyone. I'm here to learn," Audrey said.

In her opinion, she stayed true to her words. She didn't compete with him (their colleagues might disagree with her though). Rather, she was amused when she finally payed attention to him.

She watched him interact with their patients and their co-workers. She quietly observed him whenever they worked on a case together.

Sometimes...well, a lot of times, they get into debates about their different opinions regarding their patient's treatment. It was funny to see the looks on their attending's faces when that happened.

"It's good to see that you both challenge each other," her superior once commented at her. Audrey wanted to correct him and say that Dr. Melendez' competitive behavior puts pressure on her. Like she felt all her actions were being watched by a judge.

"You are a good influence on him I think. When you've got a brilliant co-worker you can't help but work as hard as she is."

"I take that as a compliment sir," she joked.

"Of course it is. Keep motivating each other would you?"

Audrey didn't know what to do with that request but as time went by she began to get used to Neil's competitiveness. Surprisingly she found it satisfying when she gets on his nerves about something they disagree with. Sometimes she would disagree with him on purpose just to annoy him (not during serious situations with their patients of course).

One night in their second year of residency, Lim, Melendez, Flores and Choi were in the lockers room as they gathered their stuffs after finishing their shift.

"So now that our team finally won against you ladies, where's our reward?" Dr. Choi teased his colleagues. They had just won against them in another round of Dr. Glassman's 'games'. Unbeknownst to their supervisor, the residents learned to bet against each other during these games.

"You guys always win so we worked hard and earned this. Don't we deserve a nice reward?," Dr. Melendez added with a big smile plastered on his face.

"Oh boys be patient. Just what I said this morning, drinks are on me and Audrey. So finish packing up your stuff and let's chill-out," Dr. Flores said and excused herself to the washroom. "Let's meet at 9 okay,"

Dr. Lim followed after her in a hurry. "I can't believe you dragged me into these betting stuff," grumbled.

"You're just irritated because he won against you," she smirked.

"Excuse me? I'm not even competing with him. I was trying ignore you guys and focus on the patient. I don't care if I lose."

"Sure, you always say that," Dr. Flores shrugged unconvinced by her. "C'mon Audrey, smile or else Melendez' ego will grow again knowing he defeated you and you're sulking,"

"I don't sulk and I said I don't care," she glared.

Dr. Flores raised her eyebrows at her friend.

"Fine, it's not about losing that makes me irritated, look at his face and his big ego...it's annoying," she admitted.

"See? You still do care. Let's win against them next time okay?"

"Oh, you're just using me to get back at Dr. Choi. I know you," Audrey teased. "Maybe today was Melendez' lucky day or maybe he bribed his patients and tried to be nicer than usual. Although I'm sure I will win next time. I always do even without effort and sucking up to people..." she proudly stated.

"It's the clash of big egos," Dr. Flores rolled her eyes and whispered to herself.


	7. 2 - part two

**Five times Audrey noticed him and he didnt**

**2**

"_Oh humility is never your strong suit."_

"I can't believe they made us do this just hours before the gala," Dr. Lim cringed as he and Dr. Melendez stared at the mess of their patient's open abdomen. This patient arrived at the ER in septic shock due to an infection in her abdomen. Both doctors were paged for an emergency surgery.

"We can't choose patients Dr. Lim," he warned her.

"I know," she replied sarcastically. "Just perfect timing before our shift ends right?"

"Damn it. Let's just do this fast," Their patient had a perforated colon that created a hole for stool to leak through, contaminating the rest of her abdominal organs.

Dr. Lim closed her eyes for a moment and tried to distract herself from the horrible smell that her mask can't protect her from.

Beause of the situation both doctors miraculously worked together without bickering. Both moved in sync with each other as they cleaned out their messed up patient.

"This is disgusting. Probably the worst shit I've seen these past three years," Dr. Lim commented as she scooped a handful of blood-stained stool out of the abdomen.

"Well now you could say that we've been through the worst shit together," Dr. Melendez joked.

"I don't think someone would appreciate poop stories Melendez," she replied. "I'd probably take long shower later to take out these smell. I don't think these gloves are doing their work,"

"Agreed. Or else we won't be making a nice impression to the donors later at the gala."

"Or maybe I will ditch the gala and have nice long sleep instead,"

"You can't. All residents are required to attend," Neil reminded her.

"They won't notice my absence if you won't rat me out,"

"Oh you will attend. You need to see me handsome in a tux," he said proudly.

"So arrogant," Lim whispered to herself.

"You said something?" he asked.

"Well I said you don't look handsome right now, scooping up stool and stuff," she replied sarcastically.

.

That night Audrey eventually decided to attend the gala. She doesn't really have a choice afterall.

She rarely dress up and put on some makeup and would rather settle on her boyish outfits for comfort. So these kind of events stresses the hell out of her. She looked at her closet and brought out the dress she bought last week just for this event. She choose a simple black halter dress rather than her usual comic-book t-shirts which wasn't appropriate for the event. She put on some light makeup, curled her hair and with a few accessories she was ready to go.

When Audrey arrived she immediately searched for her fellow residents. She found them huddled together in the corner and approached them.

"Oh wow who are you and what have you done to our Dr. Audrey Lim?" Dr. Flores greeted her upon her arrival.

"It's the first time we see you out of your scrubs and shirts, we're not used to this," Dr. Choi commented.

"Well you all are lucky because this is once in a blue moon event only, " she replied. "Can't wait for this day to end already."

"You just arrived."

"Yeah and I'm having my worst day right now," she complained thinking back to the surgery awhile ago and now having to endure this gala tonight.

"By the way, where the hell is Melendez? Don't tell me he ditched us after forcing me to attend?" Audrey asked.

"FYI Lim, I didn't force you. I bribed you and you took my bait," she turned around to the voice and saw Melendez with a smug face.

"Dr. Melendez you're looking good tonight huh," Dr. Flores complimented.

"Since you're the only single among us, you might want to use that looks tonight," Dr. Choi teased.

Lim rolled her eyes. "This is not a prom, it's a fund raising event," she pointed out but the three ignored her.

"The president's daughter has been staring at you since you arrived Neil," observed Dr. Choi.

"You think so?"

"She's interested I bet."

"Well I'm an interesting man,"

'Wow you're too confindent Melendez' Audrey said in her mind as she kept listening to them.

"You should go and talk to her " Dr. Flores urged him so Melendez left the group and approached Jessica's table.

The two seemed to get along well that moments later when Audrey looked up from frowning at her phone screen she saw both of them laughing.

She quietly observed them and for the first time that night she did really admit that Neil looked handsome...especially when he's smiling like that. 'Don't you ever tell him that Audrey!' her mind warned.

"I bet you those two would get together before the year ends," she heard Dr. Flores say to Dr. Choi.

"Nope. It will be next year," he replied. "How about you Audrey? Any bets?"

She snorted. She doesn't have the luxury of time to mind other people's love life when her own is in chaos. And it's also one of the many things that makes her moody that day.

She got in another argument with Kashal. Audrey thinks it's his fault this time. She's got a busy schedule as a resident, he should know that by now. Audrey can't just take day-offs easily so he should be the one giving way to her.

'And it's his fault for choosing to work far from here' she insisted.

Afterwards, as Audrey waited outside for a cab to go home she checked her phone again for any messages from her husband. When she saw none she released a frustrated sigh and turned it off.

She heard a distant laughter and Neil and Jessica heading to her way. She didn't wanna get stuck with the two so she ran and hid behind the corner.

She watched Neil be a gentleman and escort Jessica to her car and afterwards going home himself.

"I wished Kashal was here..." she lamented.


	8. 2 - part three

**Five times Audrey noticed him and he didnt**

**3**_"_

_So, when's the big day?"_

After their first meeting, Audrey noticed that Neil and Jessica seemed to be getting along together. She watched at the sidelines from their getting-to-know each other stage to becoming close friends.

She noticed those looks Jessica gave Neil whenever they were in the same room or even at the hallway. Sometimes it irritates her when those two throw flirty conversations in her presence. She's not jealous. Audrey drilled that in her head. She's already married to someone else.

But it doesn't mean she won't get annoyed when her co-resident is throwing lovesick looks at the granddaughter of the hospital's founder. And for God's sake they are at work!

Those two probably didn't give any meaning to their 'small talks' while at work but some of the nurses loves gossips. The nurses instincts were sharp and they're used to this, they knew something was bound to happen between them.

Audrey didn't know when they started dating. As arrogant as he is, Neil wouldn't just announce that he's dating Jessica. It would cause problems since she has connections to the hospital and is in a high position and some might think Dr. Melendez will be favored as resident.

She only learned about the romance from their co-residents.

"So it finally happened huh," she said unconcerned and too focused on eating her lunch. "Should I try to avoid them when they're together?"

"Why?" asked Dr. Flores.

"Don't you find it annoying when your friends flirt in front of you? She's not even my friend. So it's just so awkward," Audrey finished her lunch, took her phone and went to continue her rounds leaving her friend alone.

"That's weird...she's cool when he gets competitive and annoying.. And now she's annoyed when he's not trying to be," she said to no one.

Over the rest of their residency Audrey realized that Neil's relationship with Jessica was here to stay. When they were past the honeymoon stage of their relationship she could see that Neil was serious about it.

He had also became more mature but Audrey thought that it's normal as people get older and wiser in life. He will still occasionally annoy her but their disagreements now are more professional than ever.

And what Audrey noticed that changed the most was the time Neil spent with his friends. He used to hangout a lot with his close fellow residents. She didn't think he missed a time before he got himself a girlfriend. And now Audrey missed seeing him have some fun with them.

It also seemed like the situations were reversed. Audrey used to be the one excusing herself out occasionally when they went out for drinks. Nowadays she'd rather follow her friends and drink her problems away. Because while Neil's relationship went deeper in love, her marriage gets more shallow as time goes by. Those miscommunications took from days to weeks to be resolved and sometimes gets buried by another one. It was exhausting on her part as she was already stressed out by residency and soon it eventually reached her breaking point.

Audrey had expected it to happen early on when she began her residency and they had to be in long distance relationship. Talking about putting two difficult situations together huh?

She went through her divorce quietly and with a brave heart. Her career is flourishing and she's almost near her goal. She dedicated years and years of learning and a lot of sacrifices were made to be where she's at now...'this should be my last sacrifice then' she told herself.

.

"Hey, Audrey have you heard the latest news today?" Dr. Ko asked while they were inside the OR. They became friends when she started her fellowship last year.

"What news..or is it gossip again? I'm amazed you have time for that," Audrey replied focusing on their unconscious patient.

"I didn't. It's just the first thing I heard from the nurses when I did my rounds before," she continued. "Dr. Melendez finally popped the question,"

That made Audrey look up from the organ she was staring at. "And?"

"She said yes of course,"

"Sorry for butting in your conversation but she's really lucky. He's smart and good looking just like her. They're perfect fit," the young resident assisting them gushed.

Dr. Lim raised her eyebrows at that and tried so hard not to roll her eyes, not only that time but throughout the rest of her shift as the news travelled.

.

The first time their paths crossed after Audrey learned the news Neil was eating by himself at the cafeteria.

"You seriously eating by youself now huh?" she greeted him with a smile.

He looked up and grinned when he saw her. He wanted to say something but his mouth was full so he gestured for her to sit down.

"No need. I just got my coffee, I saw you so I just passed by to say congratulations," she said still smiling.

"Thank you. I haven't seen you in a week huh,"

"Missed competing with me?" Neil laughed at that. "Come down to ED you'll surely find me then. In fact that's where I'm headed now," she held up her pager and he nodded in understanding.

He didn't notice how her smile fell from her lips when she turned her back from him.

Audrey might not have noticed it earlier but as their engagement stretched into months she had developed an unexplained fear of one day seeing his wedding invitation on her desk. This fear...she had an inkling on why and what it is but she's stubborn on denying it to herself.

She waited for that dreadful day for months. Well years because Neil had to finish his cardiothoracic fellowship and Jessica needs to put some cases in order first.

But those stuffs had come and go. She wondered 'so when really is the big day?'


	9. 2 - part four

**Five times Audrey noticed him and he didnt**

**4**

_"My kid's going to kindergarten on the back of a Ducati. "_

One of Audrey's last cases before the end of her residency was rather hard to take emotionally. It was hard as it hit her while her divorce was in final stages. Plus the circumstances with the patient didn't help the situation either.

"You can't sign that form. I wont allow you. And you also lost that right years ago!" the patient's mother argued with her ex husband.

"I know! I know. But i'm trying to talk to you sensibly right now. Can't you see he's suffering?"

"I can't give up on my son!"

"Sally the doctors said--"

"No! I won't sign that damn form! I won't let go of my son like what you're doing right now,"

"Excuse me? I'm only looking out for him. He can't live with those machines forever!"

"That's what you always do. You let go when things get hard!"

"Oh come on, that is a completely different topic! Don't you dare go back there,"

Audrey sighed for the nth time that day. She can hear the argument of her patient's parents even at the nurse's station. It seemed like those two will never agree on one thing. Well, she only needs the mother's go signal since she's the sole guardian of their son. But the mother wont agree with taking her son off life support when there's really no chance of saving him.

"You should passed the scut work to the interns," Neil adviced while he was checking his own patient's medical chart.

Audrey frowned. "Don't you think I already did that? They were unsuccessful so this fell unto me. Her son is never gonna wake up. There's no chance at all and she's not accepting the reality,"

"Well hopefully the father could make her change her mind," he said.

She sent him an incredulous look. "They are obviously not in good terms,"

"Then that sucks for the kid. Even in his last moments his parents can't agree. Divorce aren't kind to the kids."

The 'd' word earned him a hard stare from Audrey. 'Thankfully I don't have a kid yet. I can cut him from my life completely,' she thought about Kashal.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" asked Neil.

"I'm not looking at you. I'm thinking about what you said," she stated. "You think it's only hard for the kids?"

"No no no, I didn't mean it like that,"

"Divorce sucks for everybody involved," Audrey said staring at the direction of her patient's room where the couple were still in a debate. "It sucks to have your relationship fail. To know that all those wasted time and effort with that person wasn't worth it. It really sucks but we're bound to make mistakes. But how could you predict that to happen from the start? People change all the time...sometimes to the better, sometimes to worst."

Neil looked at her stunned. "Wow that was the most serious thing I heard from you that didn't involve any medical stuffs,"

Her mood suddenly changed. "Just mind your own patient," she excuses herself and went to find her attending which left Neil confused.

.

The next time Neil had a chance to talk to Audrey properly was when the senior residents were packing up their stuffs in the lockers room after a successful major operation with their young patient.

"Patients like Cindy are so adorable it makes me want to pursue pediatric surgery after residency," Dr. Flores said.

"You should be a pediatrician if you like them and not a surgeon. Don't you feel bad cutting up kids in the OR," Audrey replied.

"Yeah you've got a point. I like kids but not when they're sick,"

"Maybe it's time for you and your boyfriend to talk about settling down soon. Life's going to be a little easier when we're not residents soon," Dr. Choi suggested. "I myself are planning on it already. How about you Neil?"

"My plans are set in my mind. It only needs the right timing," he smirked.

"Oooohhhhh so Jessica is really the endgame for you..." Dr. Flores commented.

"What?"

"Uh nothing important,"

"C'mon spill it,"

She rolled her eyes. "It's just I don't think she fits the future you like to have. I know you like kids...and her, I don't see it," she said frankly.

That turned Neil a little bit serious. Moments later he said, "we'll figure it out, I think,"

Dr. Choi who noticed the change in Neil's mood didn't let Dr. Flores reply and pulled her out of the room afraid of what more she says to their friend. That leaves Audrey and Neil in the room. Audrey was silent the whole time and prefered to just listen to her colleagues. She avoids the topic fearing it'll reveal the current chaos of her personal life.

"I'm sorry," Neil said suddenly.

Audrey looked at him surprised. "For what?"

"The other day, I might have pissed you off," he explained. "Sorry for whatever I said wrong?"

"Oh that... I was being sensitive and stressed. I'm the one who needs to apologize."

They smiled at each other. Neil decided to ask her opinion about their topic awhile ago since she didn't say much.

"It might not happen soon I guess... Trauma surgery will keep me busy until I finish training," she replied not disclosing to him that she's in the middle of divorce.

"So you are really staying here? I thought you're gonna follow your husband to where he is,"

"Dr. Glassman offered. And I like it here," that wasn't a lie but not the whole truth either.

"And he's okay with it?"

"I guess we'll figure it out," echoing his words moments ago.

They fell into silence as they finished packing their stuff. And before they left the room Audrey spoke.

"Dr. Flores sometimes can't keep her mouth shut...so please understand my friend," she offered.

Neil just smiled and nods at her as he opened the door and let her out. What Audrey didn't say was her friend's intuition was sometimes right.


	10. 2 - part five

**Five times Audrey noticed him and he didnt**

**5**

_"I have feelings for you, I have for a long time and it scares me..."_

The day Audrey noticed Neil in a different light, her realizations came to her in an unexpected timing. For all these years she had known him, she viewed him as a friend and colleague. Even when he was annoying her and being competitive they were always equals and acknowledge each other's skills. And she's always professional and never let personal life invade her mind when at work. That is why only few people at work knows what keeps her busy when she's not in surgeon-mode.

But sometimes some feelings emerge especially when you're keeping it buried for so long. Perhaps it was because of the coffee her resident gave her that made her more hyper than usual.

It all started when Jessica arrived at the ED during that busy night. Dr. Lim was beside Nurse Farrar as she updates the patients to her. They got a mass casualty so everyone will have a long night.

Audrey saw Jessica kiss Neil and as they approached them at the nurse's station she forgot to restrain herself when she asked the question. "So, when's the big day?"

Neil looked up at her from the clipboard he was reading. "We haven't set it yet," Jessica smiled.

"Oh where is it gonna be?" Audrey felt a little nosy tonight when she normally strays away from Neil's love life.

"We'll figure it out... Maybe a beach somewhere," she replied. Nurse Farrar smiled at that.

"We should talk about this later," Neil interrupted. Audrey and Nurse Farrar shared a look.

"What? I like beaches. You have a more romantic idea?" Jessica asked him her smile slipping from her face.

"My family likes churches," he replied not meeting her eyes.

Audrey might have realized she opened a sensitive topic for the couple. Thankfully Dr. Glassman who was there all the time watching the scene in amusement stepped in to diffuse the tension in the air. He sent Dr. Lim away to check on her patient but Nurse Farrar continued to talk about weddings and stuff. And things didn't turn better when she brought Shaun to the conversation.

All Glassman had to do was sigh in defeat.

.

Later in the early morning when most of the patients were out of danger, Audrey got to sit down for a moment and rest. That night was stressful but what concerned her the most wasn't about her patients. It was 'that' moment a while ago.

She didn't mean to tease the couple like that and she didn't even know that was a wrong topic to ask them with.

'Well they have been engaged for more than a year aren't they going to put a date on it?' she thought.

'Oh god Audrey you might just pushed them to settle the stuffs. Don't be disappointed when you get their invitation soon' she mentally scolded and covered her face with her hands.

"Feeling a bit sleepy Dr. Lim? Me too, I haven't pulled an all-nighter in a while," Dr. Glassman suddenly sat beside her with a coffee in his hand.

"I'll easily recover sleep when I get home later," she replied.

He nodded and offered her a coffee but she declined saying she had enough of that from Dr. Kalu. It was what kept her energy running throughout the night.

"Mmm I need it to gather some courage and wisdom," he chuckled.

"You haven't told the wife of your neurosurgery patient that died about what happened?" she asked.

Dr. Glassman shook his head. "Later, one at a time first. I need this coffee for when I talk to Shaun and Jessica later,"

The mention of her name caught Lim's interest as she turned to her mentor.

Somehow Dr. Glassman can read through Audrey's face and answered her silent question. "It wasn't about that. Neil and Jessica's arguing about his patient. Apparently the situation touched some nerves to them."

"It's kind of tiring playing referee between a doctor and a lawyer when they have different opinions," he continued. "I prefer doctor to doctor debates," he stated smiling at Dr. Lim.

Audrey for once became speechless infront of her mentor. She didn't know what to say to that statement.

"You and Jessica are close though,"

"Yeah, but sometimes I don't feel like giving her relationship advice. I suck at that. Just look at my life," he stated. "it's true when they say intelligent people are unlucky at love."

Audrey thought about herself and her past failed marriage and laughed. "Yeah you could say that..."

He looked at her for a moment before staring back at the floor. "You know what, I wouldn't dare say this to you years ago since I knew that you married at that time but I thought Dr. Melendez liked you."

Audrey raised her eyebrows at him. "Yeah? He likes competing with me..."

Dr. Glassman smiled at her like he knew a secret she didn't. "Those stuffs were purely rivalry? Nothing else?"

"What else is there?" she said a little unseasy at the topic.

He didn't reply and just stared at her. "Don't worry this conversation is between the two of us only." he smiled, got up and left to his office.

.

That conversation stayed in Audrey's mind even as she went home that afternoon. She ate and showered and immediately dropped down on her comfortable bed. She was so tired but she cannot get Dr. Glassman's words out of her head.

'He thought Melendez liked me... wow what a funny way to show you like someone huh'

'Besides. Why is he telling me that now? Why make me confused with my feelings?' Audrey sat up abruptly and wiped her face.

"Feelings??? Are you insane Audrey? Don't tell me you liked Melendez?" she said to no one but herself.

She thought about liking Melendez and made a 'wtf' face.

"This is impossible. Inappropriate. It can't be Audrey! No no no noooo," she groaned and buried her face to her pillows.

She thought about every moment she spent with him in the last nine years... Every bickerings and agreements and all the stuff in between...

"Audrey noooo," she tried to convince herself but her conscience tells her 'maybe...'

And she later confirmed her realizations the next time she saw him at work. Like the usual, she was at ED again and she paged him for a consult. The whole time she was explaining the patient's condition to him she suddenly can't look him straight in the eyes so she focused on the patient and just casually trying to act normal.

She left him with the patient as soon as she was done, her mind internally screaming 'you're screwed Audrey. Why did you let these feelings happen?'

\--

**Yup. This chapter is familiar right? It's the episode where Audrey was introduced, season 1 ep 6. Its amusing to rewatch this now with all I know that will happen to limlendez a couple of episodes later.**

**And the last part of this chapter I referenced limlendez' brief scene together in ep 7.**

**I have a lot of quotes and scenes I'd like to add to this story, so this is probably not yet the end. And I think I need to rewatch some episodes because I'll be exploring their attending life now. :) Thanks for reading**


	11. 3

_"You're right we need to stand together."_

Late into their residency, Neil and Audrey were lucky enough to be a part of a rare case with Dr. Andrews and Dr. Glassman. They've got an infant with craniosynostosis and are planning a surgery to correct the defect. Glassman had brought the two residents to discuss the plans to the parents days prior to the surgery.

The anxious first time parents were so worried for their baby but Dr. Glassman reassured them that the team are confident about the surgery.

"You're going to be the one performing the surgery right?" the father asked again.

"Me, Dr. Andrews whom you've met first, Dr. Melendez and Dr. Lim," he confirmed and gestured to the two beside him.

"Oh, I forgot they're surgeons too," he said.

"Still surgical resident sir but soon hopefully," Neil replied.

"Oh okay..." he said before turning to look at Dr. Lim. "I thought you were a nurse actually."

"Nurses are great people but I'd like to do more than what they can do," Audrey answered.

"But isn't the training so long? Surely you'll want to have a life other than seeing internal organs all the time. My wife was a nurse but I had her stop working to take care of our baby now."

Audrey kept a polite smile but Neil knew better than that. She's faking it of course. He knew that Audrey hates these kinds of patients. Those patients who'd look at her differently because she's a woman and expects her not to be committed enough to being a surgeon once having a family of her own. It's a good thing she's already proven herself to her bosses and earned their respect. But for the patients who are constantly changing, it's frustrating when she meets someone like this person.

.

Later that day Neil joined Audrey for lunch. They've been spending a lot of time studying and preparing for the surgery tomorrow.

They were chatting about the patient until the topic arrived to the parents. Neil felt comfortable enough to press her about his observations awhile ago.

"You were pissed at him,"

Audrey sipped at his drink. "Annoyed maybe. I don't count the number of people who'd asked if I'm a nurse. Even if I'm wearing that white coat they would always look in disbelief if I say I'm a surgical resident."

She looked at him. "Don't worry about me. I don't care about what the patients think of me. I don't care what kind of person the patients are or their beliefs unless its medical related. I'll just do my job well so that they can get out of hospital fast," she with a small smile.

"I don't know but you being nice to these kind of people is weird...after seeing how we bicker with each other," he laughed.

"Oh in my mind I have a lot to say to him. I just can't speak sarcastically to a patient especially infront of Dr. Glassman," she admitted.

.

.

.

Dr. Browne wanted so badly to talk to Dr. Melendez but he was so busy so she waited until he was alone to apporoach him.

"Dr. Melendez can I talk to you for a moment?" she caught up with him as he exited SICU.

"Can this talk happen while walking? Because I'm busy right now,"

"It's about Dr. Lim. Could you talk to her?"

"Don't tell me it's about that incident in OR"

"She told you?"

"I heard from the surgical staff when we're inside the OR,"

"Is she pissed? If she was then kudos to you, that's an achievement I used to do when we were residents," he almost smiled at the memory. "But that is not a thing I would do to my superiors," he pointed out.

Claire didn't get it. "What did Lim expect me to do? Stand there and smile while she called my medical judgement into question?" she complained which earned her a look from Melendez. He remembered debating with her regarding their medical judgements but it was always civil. If he didn't raise his voice to Audrey who's in the same level as him surely he wouldn't dare raising his voice and publicly arguing with his bosses that time as a resident.

"Your patient nearly died waiting on that OR right?" Claire added.

"It was bad what do you want me to do?"

"Tell her to back off."

"No."

"He's a complete and utter--"

"Not one of those nice racists huh?"

"I shouldn't have to be--"

"Claire," Neil stopped and faced her. "Here's what you have to do. Shut up and do exactly what Dr. Lim tells you to do." He spent a long time training with Audrey to witness how she dealt with nice and difficult patients. Their residents needs to learn this too.

"But--" she tried to argue but Melendez stared at her sternly.

"Yes sir."

"Dr. Lim had dealt with a lot difficult patients too when she was a resident, sometimes it was frustrating but it all lead her to where she is now,"

Claire nods and went back to her patient in SICU.

.

A few days later Audrey approached Neil to inquire about his patient. She saw him after he was done talking to Avery's parents.

"How is she?"

"She's out of danger, finally. And she'll be moved out of ICU later this day," Neil informed.

"That's good to hear, or else I will feel really bad that we successfully treated her attacker." she admitted.

"He was a difficult patient, I heard from Browne," he said.

Audrey rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah...but the residents got the worst of it I guess,"

"Is everything okay now?"

"She apologized properly. I accepted it. Case closed." Lim said.

"That easy? It wasn't like that whenever I apologize at you before?" he frowned.

"Because you're different from her."

"You gotta expand on that Lim,"

"She's my resident and I was teaching her a lesson to which she realized and learned from it..."

"And?"

"You were my fellow resident who likes to compete with me so its fun to mess with you once in a while," As she said that she made the mistake of staring straight at Neil's eyes. Only then she noticed that he was already smiling at her.

She forced herself to look away before it got weird. She tried to quickly think of a reason to excuse herself when her own pager saved her from the situation.

"Dr. Lim," Neil called her back before she left.

"What?"

"Next time we argue it'll be my turn to mess with you," he stated with a smirk.

Audrey just playfully glared at him.


End file.
